TOTAL WARFARE

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1940, Page 7

TOTAL WARFARE

By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.

NO MILITARY TARGETS

DESTRUCTION WROUGHT

Received 1.15 a.m. London' Sept«nber 10. A LL pretence of seeking military objectives was dropped by Nazi raiders which bombed London indiscriminately throughout the night. Bombs fell in the heart of the metropolis. "Following the heavy losses inflicted by our fighters an che repulse of his attacks last evening, the enemy has now thrown off all pretence of confining himself to military taigets, said an official communique this morning. "Reports received during the night. show that bombs were scattered at random over London without distinction of objectives. They have fallen in the city and caused fires in the immediate vicimty of St. Laui s Cathedral and the Guildhall, on a large maternity hospita , which was twice attacked, a number of casualties bemg caused, on a poor law institution for the aged, on a London Coun y Council housing estate, and on a large number of workmen s cottages, especially in the East End of London, which suffered heavy and repeated attacks. Bombs were also scattered residential districts in the west and north of London. Civilian Casualties Growing. "There was little enemy activity over the rest of Britain during the night, but some bombs that fell in a town m t e north-west of England and in rural. districts in the south-west caused some damage, but no casualties were reported. The number of casualties in last night's raid is not available. In Sunday night's raid 286 persons were killed and about 1400 were seriously injured. It is now confirmed that 52 enemy planes were shot down yesterday, 49 by fighters and three by an iaircraft fire. Three more of our pilots previously reported missing are now known to be safe." An earlier communique said 13 British fighters were lost, but three pilots were saved, The warning of night raiders sounded at 8.45 p.m., after which there was continuous air activity over London for nine hours six minutes until 5.51 a.m., when the all clear sounded. It appeared, however, that only a small number of enemy planes took part. No Thought Given to Targets. The outstanding feature of the damage was just what the official communique says — it revealed indiscriminate bombing. On Saturday night the Germans seemed to start off by seeking military objectives such as the docks, but later in the night their bombing grew wilder, and at the end of the raid it was clear they were dropping bombs anywhere. On Sunday night their aiming was even wilder, and last night and this moining it was clear they were giving no thought whatever to targets. It was obvious their bombs were dropped by pure chance. The East End was again hard hit. Bombs hit workmen's cottages, and incendiary bombs fell near St. Paul's Cathedral. Fires that were caused burned for most of the night, and they were the cathedral's greatest danger. But the cathedral was not damaged, and not even a window was broken, though another building nearby was demolished. The fires were gradually restricted, and by 7 o'clock this morning they were well under control. Two central London hospitals were hit One bomb hit a children's hospital, where six nurses were killed. Another hit a maternity hospital. A high-explosive bomb in a south-east of London district made a huge crater in a roadway, hurling into the air one of several stationary tramcars. Public Services Damaged. Similar stories were related from all parts of London. In various places bombs that struck roadways damaged gas or water mains, and in one place a burst gas main caught fire and was still burning this morning. Civilian defence services were at work again for the third night running without relaxation. Courageously they carried on and struggled with every fire, even when its flames provided light that guided raiders to the target. They have put out hundreds of incendiary bombs before they could cause fires, and have saved hundreds of lives. ■ , Beside all the destruction, however, the one thing that strikes observers to-day is that London is still carrying on. The catchword is: I'We can take it." This morning the people of London appeared cairn, quiet and determined. Most had lost sleep, some had had their houses damaged, and some, surprisingly few in the circumstances, had suffered injury. Thousands waited at suburban stations to find out what transport was still available, though in the streets there was an unusual number of pedestrians. Buses were running, but on most routes there were some places where buses had to make a detour to avoid craters in the roads. London had another short warning this morning, lasting for about half an hour. The city was little disturbed, for no planes were seen, though anti-aircraft fire was heard.